THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 16, 1994 TAG: 9407160436
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
Mark Garcea, temporary custodian of the Hampton Roads Hurricanes, wants to remove the ``temporary'' tag and says he fully expects to be granted the franchise's rights at a league meeting Aug. 14.
Garcea, one of the major shareholders of the Norfolk Tides, was given control of the team July 8 after the league ruled that Ellis Gillespie, the team's original owner, had defaulted after failing to make overdue payments to the league.
``For doing this, the league has told me I will most likely be rewarded the franchise at the league meetings in Greensboro,'' Garcea said. ``Myself and (business partner) Page Johnson are very sports-oriented and saw something that was going to fail and didn't want that to happen.''
So the Hurricanes remained afloat and have a season to finish. They will host the Richmond Kickers tonight at the Center for Effective Learning in a matchup that promises to be physical, particularly in light of the two teams' previous meeting - a 1-0 Hurricanes victory in Richmond - and the two teams' playoff hopes.
That the Hurricanes are playing seems an accomplishment. According to staff members, debts had mounted into the tens of thousands of dollars and there was some question as to whether the team would have been able to complete the season without Garcea and his Hampton Roads Sports Limited Liability Corp. stepping in. At times, staff personnel dug into their own pockets to foot bills.
The team had not been given any money for its road trip to Connecticut and Long Island last weekend. Garcea's first order of business was to supply expense money for the trip and back pay for the coaches and for player appearances for the previous two weeks.
Gillespie was stripped of the franchise when he failed to make good on a $10,000 line of credit that was due the league. Gillespie argues that he did not promptly receive a fax dated June 24 giving him 10 days to make payment or default. Regardless, the credit line originally was due two months prior to the beginning of the season, meaning it was four months overdue.
As for the debts, Gillespie said, ``It's not as bad as people anticipate. We knew we'd spend more than we could make and I'd make up the difference myself. But the little, teeny bills mounted.''
Gillespie, who against mounting odds vows he will regain control of the franchise, said he made the biggest mistake in agreeing to host the league's all-star game, which drew a crowd of only 1,600 - smaller than any crowd for any Hurricanes game this season.
``They begged us to take on the all-star game because we were leading the league in attendance,'' Gillespie said. ``I probably shouldn't have done it.''
Francisco Marcos, commissioner of the USISL, was out of the league's Dallas-based offices and could not be reached for comment.
Garcea expects it will cost him $12,000 to gain control of the franchise. Gillespie paid $12,500 for franchise rights last summer when he decided to form a USISL team.
Garcea had made inquiries a month ago into the cost of purchasing the team and said Gillespie told Johnson he was not interested in selling the whole team, but would sell 10 percent for $50,000. When Gillespie failed to provide expense and debt figures, Garcea backed away.
``I wanted to see the portfolio,'' Garcea said. ``Any shrewd, smart businessman would.''
Garcea admits he doesn't see the Hurricanes making money any time soon.
``When we started talking about the money aspect, Page (Johnson) told me, `Mark, this has got to be for fun,' '' Garcea said.
Meanwhile, Gillespie is left formulating a game plan to regain control. But in the end, he may be left with only a name, the Hurricanes' trademark.
Garcea said he would like to retain the Hurricanes' name, but if agreement cannot be reached, he has no qualms about changing it.
Gillespie and Garcea met Monday to discuss the team and decided to meet again Wednesday to continue discussing the team's financial situation. When they met Wednesday, Gillespie informed Garcea of his intentions to regain control, cutting the meeting short.
``You have to realize I've put close to $200,000 investment into this thing,'' Gillespie said. ``My mistake is I didn't take on any investors.
``I had a lot of people ready to invest, but didn't have a system set up yet. The timing is part of it. We would have held it together. I'm still very much interested in the success of the Hurricanes.
``If I don't get the team back, that puts me in the stands watching the games. That's the only way I can look at it. If you don't have it, you don't have it. The soccer community is still behind us and we need to keep it running the best way possible.'' by CNB